'Two Gloves' Gainey has win in hand

Golf • The 37-year-old from South Carolina rallies for his first title.

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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

St. Simons Island, Ga. • Winning on the PGA Tour is what Tommy Gainey dreamed about when he held a job wrapping insulation around hot water tanks, when he was playing more mini-tours than he can remember, when he was taking part in a Golf Channel reality series where he was best known as the guy wearing two gloves.

"Two Gloves" never imagined his first win would unfold the way it did Sunday at Sea Island.

Seven shots behind going into the final round of the McGladrey Classic, Gainey came within one putt of a 59, and then had to wait more than two hours as David Toms, Jim Furyk and tournament host Davis Love III  who have combined for 49 wins, three majors and 17 Ryder Cup teams  tried to catch him.

None of them could.

Gainey broke the course record at Sea Island with a 10-under 60, which carried him to a one-shot win over Toms. He became the fourth player this year to rally from at least seven shots in the final round to win, helped by seven straight 3s on his card on the back nine.

ARTICLE PHOTO GALLERY

"Oh, man," said Gainey, a 37-year-old from South Carolina. "I tell you, you're out here on the PGA Tour. You're playing with the best players in the world. Ninety-nine percent of these guys have already won, and won majors, big tournaments. The only show I can say I've won is the 'Big Break.' Now I can sit here and say I've won the McGladrey Classic here at Sea Island, and I'm very proud to be in this tournament and very proud to win. And wow, it's been a whirlwind day."

"I didn't know having 24 putts and shooting 60 would be like this," he said. "So I'm pretty stoked about it."

Furyk was pretty bummed.

He went 55 holes without a bogey, a streak that ended on the 18th hole when he needed a birdie to force a playoff. From the fairway, Furyk pushed an 8-iron right of the green and had to settle for a 69, a sour end to a season filled with bitter moments. It was his fourth time with at least a share of the 54-hole lead. He lost in a playoff, made bogey on the 16th hole at Olympic Club that cost him a shot at the U.S. Open, and made double bogey on the 18th hole at Firestone to lose the Bridgestone Invitational.

"I think what I'm most disappointed about is when it came down the stretch, hitting the ball pretty much as good as I can, I made really, really poor swings at 17 and 18 with a 7-iron and 8-iron," said Furyk. "So to play those two holes and not get one good look at it for birdie was disappointing."

LPGA Tour

In Incheon, South Korea, Suzann Pettersen won the HanaBank Championship for her ninth LPGA Tour title, beating Catriona Matthew with a 5-foot birdie putt on the third hole of playoff after blowing a big lead. 

Leaderboard

McGladrey Classic

Tommy Gainey -16

David Toms -15

Jim Furyk -14

Brendon de Jonge -12

D.J. Trahan -12

Davis Love III -12

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